Russia has committed to extend more support to help the Philippine government fight the Covid pandemic.
During his 30-minute telesummit on Tuesday with President Rodrigo R. Duterte, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he will “bolster cooperation” with the Philippine government in various areas, including its anti-Covid campaign.
Duterte welcomed the pronouncement from Putin especially since the government is now eyeing to purchase 20 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine of Russian pharmaceutical company Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology.
Chief implementer of the government’s national policy on Covid-19 Carlito G. Galvez Jr. said he expects the supply agreement for the procurement of Gamaleya’s Sputnik V vaccine to be finalized within the week.
“Maybe in the next two to three days it will be signed since they already gave the format for the supply agreement. This means it has been cleared by the Russian Direct Investment Fund,” Galvez said in an online press briefing on Tuesday.
Once the accord is finalized, Galvez said they expect an initial 500,000 Sputnik V vaccine to be shipped this month.
Both Duterte and Putin agreed that the distribution of Sputnik V should be expanded to more countries, especially amid the resurgence of Covid-19 worldwide.
Aside from Covid-19 related issues, Duterte and Putin also talked about existing defense and security cooperation, “fostered by regular exchanges between defense, intelligence and military agencies,” in the last five years.
Duterte also reiterated his invitation to Putin to visit the country “as soon as circumstances allow.”
The meeting was held as part of the commemoration of the 45th anniversary of Philippines and Russia’s diplomatic relations this year.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr. and Senator Cristopher Lawrence “Bong” Go were also present during the meeting.
Image credits: Alexei Nikolsky, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP